College rankings are fun to talk about, but families shouldn’t view them as the be-all and end-all when they’re building a list of prospective colleges. The reality is that these rankings are subjective. From U.S. News & World Report to The Wall Street Journal to The New York Times, every source uses different data points […]

’Tis the season to try to make sense out of the heavily populated college landscape. Fortunately, there’s plenty of help out there. Here’s a list of upcoming fall 2018 college fairs in the Chicago area for you to mark on your calendar:   CHICAGO NATIONAL COLLEGE FAIR When: September 29, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Where: McCormick […]

Partners For Achievement is excited to announce its new service project for 2018: 1,001 Backpacks for Haiti and Home. We are teaming up with students from more than 15 Chicago area high schools to collect new and gently used backpacks and school supplies. This project is a follow up to last year’s inaugural PFA service […]

One of the great mysteries of The Common Application seems to be the “Additional Information” section. Many applicants leave it blank because they’re not sure what should go there.   And in many cases, it’s okay to leave that space blank. Unless you’re providing information that adds value to your application package, it may not […]

If you don’t think colleges are paying attention to what you’re posting on social media, you’re mistaken. For proof, look no further than Harvard University. In 2017, Harvard rescinded at least 10 acceptances after learning about offensive content those students had shared on Facebook.   I expect this type of pattern to continue. Look for […]

If you’ve determined you might be a good fit for applying to highly selective schools, there’s more to consider than your GPA and test scores. Those types of colleges look beyond pure academic achievement. They also pay close attention to demonstrated intellectual interest or curiosity, also called the standout factor.   Highly selective schools expect […]

In many ways, the college admissions process is a game. You need to understand all the rules of the game in order to maximize your chances for success, and “demonstrated interest,” or taking extra measures to show that you want to attend a particular school, is among the key aspects.   Colleges are always concerned […]

High school students often enter into the process of searching for a likely, target or reach college with unrealistic expectations, both positively and negatively.   Recently, I met with a Partners For Achievement student who had 20 schools on her list, all of which were the most selective in the nation, including Ivy Leagues, the […]

Many high school students enter the process of choosing a college with a preconceived notion of what they want or don’t want.   For instance, I often hear, “I know I don’t want to go to a college that’s smaller than my high school.” In response to that, I say, “How do you know? The […]

When Partners For Achievement was founded in 2012 and I delved into statistics regarding how successful kids are at making their college planning choices, I was appalled. Consider these nuggets of information: What to do? At PFA, we created a college planning process to help students think through building their college lists in a more […]